Adaline (The Wallflower Series Book 3) (4 page)

“You know you’ll never be with him in the way that you want. It’s all over your face- the fact that you want him. But, trust me, that is not a road you want to travel down.” She sighed and let go of Adaline’s arm. “I’m married now and still I sometimes think about how things could have ended differently between us. Look at me, Adaline.” Her hands swept down her body. “He let
me
go. Imagine what he would do to you. He’d break your heart and spit it out with no problem because there are a line of women waiting to be with him and you are just a bleep on his radar.”

Adaline took a step back from her cousin. She crossed her arms so that Carla couldn’t see how her hands were shaking. She could deny it all she wanted but there was a certain truth in her cousin’s words; Carla didn’t know it, but she was reiterating Adaline’s own doubts.

“You’re not on his level, Adaline. That’s just reality.” With that said, Carla shrugged her shoulders and muttered a good-bye before walking out of the door.

Adaline stood there in the now empty room and tightened her hands into fists. She knew the way Carla described Dominic as a callous man-whore was wrong. But she couldn’t help but again question the way their friendship had dissolved so many years ago. She had adored him and had yearned for the day to finally reveal her feelings. But that day never came, or at least not the way she had imagined it as a naïve girl dealing with her first crush.

As her mind began to go down memory lane she felt the familiar stirrings of regret and anger. Before it could completely envelope her, she quickly shook her head and reminded herself to keep the past in the past. Even if she could never be the woman on Dominic’s arm, she could find satisfaction with having her best friend back. With that last thought, she took in a deep breath once more and walked out of the room to join the group of guests saying goodbye to the bride and groom.

Playing the part of doting cousin, Adaline joined the crowd and hugged Carla and her new husband before they entered the limousine and were whisked away to the airport.

Dominic could feel his frustration growing more and more by the blank looks he received following his presentation. It was a plan for the expansion of the hotel into new territories, specifically the Caribbean. More and more islands had the growing infrastructure and the air service to successfully expand into the region, not to mention the hotel chains’ loyal customers who would eagerly utilize their memberships to travel to exotic lands. As a company they had increasingly experienced more successful quarters that would help offset any unforeseen costs. But as Dominic stood in front of men who were at least ten years his senior, he began to see that the didn’t doubt his plan. They doubted his ability to bring this vision into fruition.

His father’s lack of confidence in him and his refusal to let go of the reigns of the company to his own son did not help pacify their anxieties. Dominic knew what they thought; he was only in this position because of who his father was. And they were partially correct. He had worked his way up the ladder quickly because of his last name and Nikolai’s obsession with leaving a legacy behind. It was his father’s desperate attempt to celebrate his hard work as a Russian immigrant. But the Vikhrov name was not just a helpful sponsorship for climbing the vertical business ladder. Dominic also found it to be a glass ceiling; his colleagues did not trust him.

As if to conform this, Nikolai cleared his throat suddenly to gain everyone’s attention. “Thank you for this presentation, Dominic. However, I feel that it is better for us to wait before we dive into a new region. What you haven’t carefully considered is the competition on these islands.”

“And I understand your worries regarding other big names like Hilton. However, this is where my marketing strategy because key…”

Nikolai held up his hand to cut off his son before he could further explain his strategy. “Now is really not the time. Thank you for your presentation but we have other matters that are more pressing.” Dismissing him soundly. Dominic’s father then turned the board’s attention to the next matter on the agenda.

Dominic’s nose flared and his face became heated at the humiliation. He held his tongue instead, because something heavier weighed on his chest. But these were the moments where he felt that he was losing his former self. The man he saw in the mirror was unfamiliar to him. But, just for a moment, he felt it return on that bench.

~~~~

“You’re not telling me to leave this time. We need to talk. And I deserve answers.”

Dina looked into Dominic’s dark eyes; they were serious, absent of the familiar warmth she was accustomed to seeing when he looked at her. She had just closed the gallery for the day only to come face-to-face with him outside of the brick building. In his signature black trench coat, Dominic stood on the sidewalk with his hands in his pantsuit pockets, ready for a verbal battle.

“I can’t.”

He snorted derisively. “That’s your answer for everything now, isn’t it? You can’t?” He took a menacing step toward her. “Well, you know what I can’t do anymore? I can’t stand by waiting for you to make the time to speak with me. So I’m going to do it for you.”

“You don’t understand, Dominic!” Her voice got higher as she began to walk away from him. Before she could get any further though, he grabbed a hold of her arm and halted her movements.

“Why the fuck do you think I keep coming back here? That’s the exact reason. Because I don’t understand. We have un-fucking-finished business, Dina. And we’re going to settle it now.”

“Fine. Fine!” Dina stomped her foot and turned back to the gallery. “Come in. I’m not doing this in the street because you’re too stubborn!”

Ignoring her outburst, Dominic calmly crossed the threshold and walked into the gallery while Dina locked it once more behind them. He followed her to the back where her office was. Scattered across the surface of her small desk were numerous manila folders and papers. He knew she was busy but he could care less in that moment.

They had dated for almost a year before she had quite literally disappeared from his life. He remembered being completely flabbergasted and drowning in confusion. Dominic hadn’t been upset that she had chosen to focus on advancing her career. No, what had upset him was the way she had completely disregarded what they were beginning to build. With only a letter of farewell, she had been on a plane to Italy, starting a new life without him.

“Tell me the truth. Why did you leave?” He asked without preamble.

“I told you this already. There was a great opportunity that opened up and I wasn’t going to let it pass me by. Plain and simple.”

Dominic smiled humorlessly. “Oh really? So you couldn’t even spare an hour to explain to me your plan or your reasoning because this magical opportunity was going to dissolve without a moment’s notice? Bullshit! You were running away from something and I want to know what. We were building something great, Dina! You know that.”

Dina’s hands curled into fists. “Stop it! I am tired of you attacking me. The only reason your upset is because of your bruised ego. You can’t fathom why a woman would choose her career over you. Well, I did. And I don’t regret it with the way you’ve been acting towards me since I came back.”

He felt his breathing grow harsh in anger. Once again, she was deflecting. Pointing out his faults instead of simply answering the question. Unused to being so overwhelmed with exasperation and rage, Dominic didn’t know what to do with himself. No one had ever made him feel so out of control, so lost. It wasn’t that she had left so much as how she did it. He didn’t want to admit it but it hurt. She had hurt him, not his ego.

Trying a different tactic, he took in a deep breath and stated calmly, “No, it’s not my ego speaking. Were you running from me? Did you simply want a way out of the relationship?” She turned her face away from him, prompting him to continue, “Hey, I’m not asking for us to begin anew. That’s not what’s on the table right now. I just want to know the real reason why you left. I’m not going to be angry, Dina. I care about you. I was learning to love you!”

At those words, Dina seemed to break. Her face scrunched up in despair, so she hid her response in the palms of her hands. Seeing her distraught, Dominic almost crossed the space between them to gather her in his arms but stopped himself.

“I-I couldn’t keep lying to you anymore,” she mumbled.

At this, Dominic braced himself for the worst. “What do you mean?”

“I…I cheated on you. I fell in love with someone else.”

Dominic felt his blood roar in his ears as she finally told the secret he had been hounding her for since her return. In the background he heard her continued sobs but didn’t care anymore. There was a numbness that overcame him and he simply couldn’t stand to be in her presence any longer. He needed to get out. When Dina finally lifted her face from the comfort of her palms, tears streaming down her cheeks, the office was empty.

Dominic didn’t know where he was going but he kept walking until the sun was beginning to set. His mind was completely blank; he didn’t want to think about anything because he knew it would simply lead back to Dina and her revelations. And it hurt too much. He wanted to punch something, anything. The ringing of his cellphone soon disrupted his angry thoughts. For a split second, he thought of ignoring it but decided he needed any sort of distraction.

“Hello?” he spoke harshly into the speaker.

“Oh! Umm…hi, Dominic. It’s me, Adaline.”

He was more than surprised to hear from her. It had only been a short time since the wedding. “Hello, Addy. What can I do for you?” He was not in the mood for pleasantries.

“If this is a bad time…”

Dominic immediately felt guilty hearing the meekness in her voice at his harsh tone. “No, no. You’re good,” he said soothingly. “What’s up?”

“Well, I’m in Boston. I moved today and I thought…do you want to meet up for dinner or something?”

At her request, Dominic wanted to decline. Truthfully, at the moment he wanted to drown his sorrows in a bottle of good ole’ Russian vodka. Perhaps even find someone to take home and make him forget the gorgeous woman who had just destroyed his dreams of love. If it hurt this much, he could live without it. But instead, he found himself saying,

“Sure, I could use a friend right now.”

Dressed in leggings with knee-high boots and a comfortable sweater, Adaline met Dominic outside a small café. She felt confident and the doubts that had plagued her mind were quiet for once. Moving to Boston had been a major change, one she desperately needed. And standing up and believing in herself to her aunt and uncle still reverberated in her mind. She recalled looking at herself in the mirror moments before walking down the stairs to greet them. It had been a few weeks since the wedding and the house, formerly clamoring with noise and the rush for preparation, had been eerily quiet. A peace had settled over the residence at the successful completion of a wedding that had been reported in the town newspaper because of all of its glory. But, despite the peaceful ambience, Adaline had been in a state of complete discontent. She had continued her sessions with her therapist and finally wrought up the courage to stop hiding. She couldn’t keep romanticizing the idea of her past strength; she had to own up to it.

Her uncle Dean had sat lounging on the couch, reading through the newspaper on his tablet while her aunt enjoyed one of her favorite talk shows on the large 90-inch television mounted on the wall.

“I need to speak with the both of you,” Adaline had announced, her accented speech a little more obvious because of her nerves.

“Can’t this wait, Adaline? My shows are on.”

“Victoria, “Dean chastised. “Let the girl speak. Your shows can wait.”

Adaline had smiled softly at her uncle before continuing, “I wanted to thank you both for allowing me to stay here after…the incident. But I think I’m ready to get back out there. My therapist- well, no….actually,
I
feel that I am ready to continue pursuing my career…my dreams.” The look of disapproval that crossed Victoria’s face did nothing to perturb her. With every word that passed through her lips, she felt her resolve strengthen. It was her time now.

“Where would you go? It’s not like you have a job there. We got you the job you currently have at the elementary school,” Victoria snorted. “Don’t think for one moment I am going to give you money to go out there and fail again…because like I told you before, you’re disabled. It’s not safe for you in any city.”

Adaline frowned at her aunt; her hands clasped into fists as she forced herself to refrain from an angry retort. “I am aware of the difficulties I face as someone who is physically disabled. I’ve lived with it my entire life. So, if anyone is an expert on the subject, it’s me. You can’t tell me how to live my life, Auntie. I don’t plan on getting married and being coddled the rest of my life simply because I can. It’s not for you to decide when I’m ready. That’s for me.”

Hearing her aunt’s show come on once more, Adaline walked from the front of the television. As she began to exit, she fired back once more,

“And for the record, I was just offered a job.”

Victoria’s brow raised with doubt. “Where?”

“I’m going to be a Speech and Language Therapist at Horace Mann.” Before her aunt could respond, Adaline had left the room. It wasn’t until she had entered her own room on the floor above that she realized her body was trembling. It shocked her to know that it wasn’t out of fear but excitement. She was excited to leave- to begin again.

The day she left, her uncle had approached Adaline. Dean, still a handsome man in his old age, had always confused Adaline. So much gentler in nature than his wife, Adaline always wondered how they had ended up together. Maybe it was best, though. His placidity could transform into a stern air that knew how to reel Victoria back, caging her claws. With the same stark icy blue eyes as his daughter Carla, Dean had looked down at her grimly.

“I’m not here to chastise you or warn you against moving back to Boston. Frankly, I am happy you’ve gained your confidence back. Victoria…she means well. She wants to protect you because she is aware of how dangerous it is for any woman to be alone in the city.”

Adaline held back a snort of derision. Worried did not describe Victoria when it came to her.

“Whatever you may think of her, remember that you are the last she has of her sister,” Dean reminded, almost as if reading Adaline’s mind. “But, either way, I want you to know you have my blessing. And, if you need anything, I am here for you.
We
are here for you.”

Before she left, he pulled her into a quick hug. Pulling back, with his hands on her slim shoulders, he had whispered, “I’m going to miss you, kiddo. You are as much a daughter to me as Carla. And I’m proud of you.”

Adaline had been shocked to see tears form in the corner of his eyes.

“What happened to you…I can never forgive myself for not being there to protect you. I want you to have protection, do you understand me?”

“What do you mean?” Adaline asked.

“It can be a Taser, a gun, or even pepper spray. Heck, I’d prefer all three but I know how stubborn you are. But you will carry something with you. I don’t care how old you are. You’re a fighter, but it never hurts to have a little help.”

It had been a touching moment Adaline would not soon forget. She had never realized how much she needed someone else to believe in her and her dreams. Without intending to, her uncle had given her the confidence she needed to be in front of Dominic that very moment.